


Come Fly With Me

by VintageJacqui



Category: Spartacus Series (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-24
Updated: 2013-09-24
Packaged: 2017-12-27 13:23:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/979448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VintageJacqui/pseuds/VintageJacqui
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nasir has a terrible fear of flying. Luckily there is someone on board who is more than happy to comfort him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come Fly With Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paradoxalliberty](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=paradoxalliberty).



The plane wasn’t even half full.

'Fucking awesome,' Agron thought, grinning as he snuggled even further into the luxurious first class seat he'd been escorted to a few minutes ago. He couldn't wait to take off and then drift for a blissful eight hours of uninterrupted sleepytime to himself.

Closing his eyes, Agron pressed his head against the travel pillow and cleared his mind. Nothing was going to spoil his trip.

The sound of a zip opening in the isle next to his seat made Agron crack open an eye. Another passenger taking the free row opposite him he assumed. Opening the other eye, Agron could only make out the curve of a slender back as the passenger bent down to get whatever he was getting out of his bag before he shoved it in the overhead storage, but by that time Agron had turned away again so he didn't actually see the man's face.

Let him get on with it, Agron thought. He didn’t care as long as he wasn’t disturbed and the guy must be the last to get on board so they would be taking off soon and he was warm and comfy and happy and…

Ok, the idiot in the isle had just plopped down in the seat right next to him! What?! A whole row to himself and isle guy had chosen to sit next to a stranger when he could have stretched out and had three seats to himself. The fucker!

Agron turned his head further away from his unwanted companion and didn’t acknowledge him. Maybe if he pretended he was already asleep the guy wouldn’t bother him.

For a few minutes, Agron believed his plan had worked. That was until the fucking plane ride ruiner started to tap his feet against the floor and his hands against the arm rests. It wasn’t a violent tapping, it was soft really, but it was constant and really fucking annoying. Agron sighed, hoping his obvious irritation was clear and the guy would stop.

No such luck.

Agron was just about to open his eyes and give the foot tapper a piece of his mind when the plane moved forward and a bell rang overhead to let everyone on board know to fasten their seat belts. It was also the same moment that a panicked sound came from the seat next to him and the tapping stopped abruptly.

Opening his eyes, because he should really pay attention to the flight crew about safety and stuff, Agron glanced at the man who had single handedly put the big black cloud above his head. He, oh, he looked, well terrified actually and the reason for the silence was because his fingers were gripping the armrests and his legs were tense and frozen to the floor. Um, ok, so Agron felt like a dick. The man, the young man, wow he wasn’t much more than a kid really, early twenties, and oh shit he is hot as fuck, he was breathing really erratically and his eyes were wide and wild like a startled deer. He had a book and an iPod on his lap.

"Um, are you ok?" Agron could see that he wasn’t, but he didn’t really know what to say either. "You, um…"

"What did she just say? Fuck, I missed it! Something about blowing into something to inflate the life jacket…" The guy’s voice trailed off and he continued to listen intently to the bored looking flight attendant.

Agron decided it was best to let them finish talking about where the emergency exits were before trying to speak to the little man again.

The plane was rolling steadily now, turning around so that it was on the right runway. Agron had done this so many times now that he could have done the safety talk to the passengers himself. He knew it practically by heart. Once they had finished he turned back to the nervous passenger.

"Hey, um, I get you must be worried about flying, but everything’s fine. First time, right?"

The man looked at Agron, but instead of saying anything he just frowned.

"You can’t really have those there while we take off. Do you have a bag or… oh it’s probably too late anyway, here…" Agron took the book and iPod of the man’s knee and slotted them into his small rucksack between his feet, "I’ll give them back once we’re up in the air, I promise. I just don’t want them hitting you in the face or anything."

Agron chuckled, hoping that the kid snapped out of what was looking horribly like the start of a panic attack. The plane was at the top of the runway now and any second would hurtle forward to gain enough speed to lift up off the tarmac.

"What’s your name, little man," Agron said calmly, placing his hand on a trembling shoulder.

"Nasir."

"Ok, Nasir, can you look at me for a minute?"

Nasir nodded and then turned his body instead of his head so that his knees bumped against Agron’s.

"Take deep breaths and keep your eyes on mine. I, um…" Agron lifted his hands and let them hover in mid air just at the sides of Nasir’s face. "It’s something my mum taught me. Can I?"

Nasir nodded again, a sharp movement of his head, his eyes never leaving Agron’s. Agron touched Nasir’s temples with his fingertips and rubbed firmly in slow circles.

"I’m Agron, by the way, weird name I know, but my family on my mum’s side is German so… I have a brother called Duro too and I think his name is weirder."

Agron kept talking about nothing in particular and rubbing Nasir’s temples. It was certainly one of the strangest situations he’d been in in a long time, but Nasir seemed pretty messed up about flying and Agron couldn’t imagine that fear, flying was nothing to him, so he figured if he could help in some way he would.

The engines on the plane roared and Nasir’s jaw tensed.

"You’re ok, I’ve got you, just keep your eyes on me," Agron continued in as soothing a voice as he could manage. "Do you like dogs?"

Nasir nodded, not looking at all phased by the random question.

"I’m a dog trainer. I started with people’s pets, you know, ones who would act up because they weren’t getting enough stimulation or exercise or whatever, but it was always the owners fault never the dogs. I’m not great with people really. Don’t think they appreciated me telling them that they were to blame."

Agron saw Nasir’s lips curl up just slightly and took that as a victory. The plane was just taking off now, rocking slightly and shuddering and Nasir inhaled sharply, the sweet almost formed smile getting wiped away.

"Um, I went on to train guide dogs and now I’m going to start a course on training police dogs. I don’t know what I’m going to stick with, guess I’ll have a better idea after the course, but I sort of like the idea of training police dogs."

They were in the air now and levelling out after the steep ascent. Nasir relaxed a little, but didn’t ask Agron to stop.

"That wasn’t too bad was it? It’s usually the worst part, um taking off…" Agron’s words trailed off and he let his hands drop from Nasir’s face.

Nasir blinked a few times and touched the spots of pink skin where Agron had been rubbing.

"That really did help, thanks."

Nasir smiled then, genuine and relieved, and the nerves weren’t as obvious anymore.

"Yeah, it’s ok, I think it’s something to do with pressure points," Agron said shrugging. All he knew was that as a child his mother had done the same thing to him when he’d gotten angry or frustrated, which never took much.

"It’s not my first time."

"Huh?"

Nasir shrugged, mirroring Agron’s movements from a minute before. Instead of fear on his face there was embarrassment.

"You said before that it must be my first time, but it’s not. I have to fly all the time and that’s just what it’s like for me."

Nasir fidgeted in his seat and moved his legs so that they were no longer touching Agron’s.

"Dude, you’re shitting me, right?"

Nasir shook his head, his long black hair swooshing at the nape of his neck.

"Nope, I can’t control it… I’ve tried loads of things, but as soon as I get to the airport it’s like, I start getting anxious and it gets worse from there. I’ve had people complain cause I’ve freaked them out and when it’s a full plane it just makes me more anxious."

Agron frowned. He couldn’t believe that Nasir went through that every time he flew. Agron was pleased to see that he was breathing easier now, but there was something about him that brought out Agron’s protective instinct.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," Nasir said, his face falling slightly as if he were expecting Agron to make fun of him.

"Why’d you sit here if you were worrying about what other passengers think?"

Nasir bit his lip. “Don’t laugh,” he said, averting his eyes from Agron’s curious gaze.

"I haven’t yet." Agron smiled and waited.

"I don’t like the thought of being alone if anything happened… anything bad." A wave of fear passed over Nasir’s face and then it was gone, replaced by a forced smile. "Sorry to have, um… you were sleeping and I… I can move now, I’m feeling loads better, thanks."

Nasir undid his seatbelt and stood up abruptly. He was about to shuffle out to the isle when Agron spoke.

"Don’t go over there, man, I could use the company. I was a bit bored if I’m honest and I didn’t bring anything to do on the plane so that’s the only reason I was going to sleep."

Agron was lying of course, but he would not let Nasir believe that he had freaked him out. That would only add to Nasir’s obvious guilt and for some reason, one that Agron couldn’t quite get a sense of, making sure that Nasir was happy was something he felt was of huge importance.

"Come on, dude, sit down."

Agron leaned forward and fished out Nasir’s iPod and book from his bag. He could feel Nasir hovering, deciding maybe if Agron was messing with him. Agron looked for the stash of chocolate in his bag too, giving Nasir enough time to come to his decision. When the seat next to him squeaked and Nasir’s feet appeared next to Agron’s again, Agron couldn’t contain his grin.

"Here’s your stuff." Agron handed the items over and placed the bag of chocolate on his lap. "So, how come you have to fly all the time? If you don’t mind me asking."

Agron opened the chocolate and offered the open bag to Nasir who smiled softly before taking a few pieces.

"Thanks," he said, biting into one piece and chewing happily. "Mo, I bon’t mind you askimg."

Agron chuckled at Nasir’s chocolate muffled words. His heart sped up a fraction. There was a chemistry between them, an attraction definitely, and it was startling just how ok Agron felt about that.

Nasir licked his lips and put the remaining squares of chocolate on his knee.

"My folks divorced and live in different cities, so I have to go between them if I want to see them both. I live near to my mum so I see her more often"

"That sucks. Does your dad come and see you?"

"Hmm, no not so much. My dad has a new girlfriend and she has kids so he can’t really leave her for long and he doesn’t really like flying so…"

Agron bit back a scowl. He’d only just met Nasir and he had no right to judge, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to tell him that his dad sounded like a jerk.

"It’s ok though, his girlfriend’s kinda nice and the kids… they’re all nice to me…"

The tone of Nasir’s voice gave away his lie. The way that he avoided eye contact also told Agron that maybe Nasir didn’t feel so welcome by his dads new family.

"So you live on your own… sorry, just tell me to stop asking questions, little man."

Nasir raised one eyebrow. Agron kept calling him that and usually it would piss him off, but Agron said it so affectionately that he couldn’t find it in him to mind.

"It’s alright, I don’t want to bore you though."

"You’re not," Agron said. He wanted to know things about Nasir, really wanted to know, it was odd.

"Um, ok… I don’t live alone, I wish I did, but I can’t really afford it. I live with a couple of friends so the rent isn’t too high and I work three jobs and save up to pay to visit dad so… How about you?"

"I live on my own," Agron said and then shook his head. "Well not all of the time. I have pups at the minute, two Alsatians who I’m training to be guide dogs."

Nasir’s face lit up at this. “Your job sounds awesome, I didn’t say earlier, but it’s, yeah, awesome.”

Agron could have been imagining it, but Nasir’s cheeks seemed to darken a little. He was still feeling embarrassed about his anxiety, probably.

"Yeah, I love doing it. Couldn’t imagine imagine doing anything else really. Do you really have three jobs? When do you get chance to sleep or go out or anything?"

"Hardly ever," Nasir said casually. "I bartend a few nights a week, lifeguard in the day and at the weekends I, um, do some work at an art school, just in some classes."

"What, like teaching?"

"No… I model… for the life class."

Agron reached for some chocolate and shoved a load into his mouth, anything to keep him from staring at Nasir. Holy fuck. A life guard who models in the nude and knows how to pour a pint! Agron was tempted to pinch himself to check if all of this wasn’t a dream.

When he dared to look back at Nasir, Agron could see him running the wires of his earphones through his fingers and he swallowed before he’d properly chewed, some of the chocolate going down the wrong way. Agron coughed, leaning forward in his seat and trying not to spit all over the place.

Shit, you ok?” Nasir sounded concerned and even patted Agron on the back a few times.

"Yeah," Agron wheezed, nodding sheepishly, but enjoying the hand still moving over the firm muscles of his back until he was breathing normally again.

Nasir laughed quietly and removed his hand, sitting back in his seat. He stretched his back and sighed. They sat quietly for a while, Agron not trusting his idiot brain not to say something about Nasir’s unusual job. They had just met after all and, fuck, Agron didn’t even know if Nasir was gay. Definitely a fact he should know before he did something ridiculous like flirt with him or proclaim his love or something else typically ‘Agron’.

"I get why people pay for first class. It’s worth it for the leg room," Nasir said, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Did you get bumped up, then?" Agron didn’t want to presume, but he didn’t really think three jobs worth of savings would get him more than economy.

"I think the people at the desk felt sorry for me. I’ve been put in first a couple of times if there’s space, but usually I’m in the cheap seats at the back. I’m not… I’m not like this normally you know."

Nasir clenched his jaw. He didn’t know why, but he hated the thought of Agron thinking he was weak or something. He wasn’t.

"It’s nothing to be ashamed of, trust me."

"I bet you’re not scared of anything," Nasir said. His eyes swept over Agron’s body. Someone so big and fearsome looking wouldn’t need to be afraid.

"I’m scared of plenty of things, actually, um… clowns, small spaces… paper cuts, monkeys…"

Agron grinned at Nasir’s pissed off face. It was so cute that he couldn’t keep up with the joke.

"You’re making fun of me," Nasir huffed, smacking Agron on the arm with the back of his hand and laughing along.

"Yeah, I am. Apart from the paper cut one, who isn’t scared of paper cuts? They hurt like fuck."

Nasir laughed louder. It was quite a sight too, those pretty lips stretched over pearly white teeth, the little crinkles at the corner of each eye, and the way his soft looking hair kept falling in his eyes only to be pushed back by slender fingers. Gods, Nasir was like a chameleon, his entire body changing depending on his mood and surroundings. He was beautiful.

Agron, very aware that he was staring again, rubbed the back of his neck and thanked Jupiter for the refreshment stand that had just clattered over to them.

"Man, I’m thirsty," Agron said. "You want something?"

Nasir was looking at him curiously, but then looked at the flight attendant like he hadn’t even noticed she was there.

"Hey, let me get you something. I owe you for earlier."

"You don’t owe me," Agron said honestly, but Nasir shook his head.

"What drink do you want? Don’t argue."

"Ok, ok," Agron smirked. "I’ll have a coke."

"Two cokes, please," Nasir said and started rummaging through his pockets, dragging out loose change and laying the coins out on his lap.

Agron felt kind of bad, he didn’t want Nasir buying him stuff if he couldn’t afford it, but he couldn’t offer to pay without looking like an arrogant dick.

"Um, four seventy five… ah," Nasir smiled at the needed coins he had found in his pocket and started placing them in the woman’s hand. "Five dollars exactly."

She handed over the drinks and Agron wanted to trip her up when he saw a definite eye roll after she’d moved past them and further down the plane.

Nasir took a long swig and let out a breathy ‘ahhh’ at the end of it. Agron did the same, perfectly in synch and put the tingling he felt in his belly down to the fizzy drink, nothing else. Maybe the cabin pressure was getting to him.

"Thanks for this, but seriously you don’t owe me anything."

Nasir shrugged and wrapped his headphone wire around his fingers again.

"Hey, you can listen to that if you want. Don’t think you’re obliged to keep listening to me ramble on or anything." Agron looked down at Nasir’s iPod when Nasir looked at him with confusion.

Agron hoped that Nasir wanted to keep talking, this was turning out to be the best trip he’d had in… well, ever if he was being honest. On the other hand though, he wanted to let Nasir know he wasn’t obliged to him in any way.

"Huh? Oh, right… yeah I guess I’ll listen to it for a bit."

Nasir didn’t meet Agron’s eyes. Shit, he didn’t want to let on that all he wanted was to keep listening to Agron talk. He didn’t want to come across as desperate.

Nasir smiled as he pushed the buds into his ears, turning up the volume and closing his eyes. His heart was beating so hard, but it couldn’t be flight nerves now, could it? The plane hadn’t hit any turbulence or anything and what with talking to someone, Nasir had almost forgotten about being terrified of flying.

It was weird, he could feel the heat coming from Agron’s arm on the armrest next to his own and his fingers itched to just move and wrap around Agron’s wrist or thread their fingers together. He wondered what Agron would do if he did?

Nasir knew that Agron was gay. No straight man looked that longingly at another mans lips. But they were strangers on a plane, nothing was ever going to happen and Nasir cursed himself for even considering it.

Biting his lip and trying to get more comfortable in his seat, Nasir let himself drift off into a light nap.

***

Agron finished the last of his drink and sighed. At the start of his journey he’d wanted to be left alone, to sleep and be quiet for the entire trip. Now, after half an hour of being quiet and trying not to study the supple curve of Nasir’s cheek, the sharp cut of his jaw, the dark sweep of his eyelashes (and cursing himself for waxing poetic about him) he just wanted to talk to someone… ok, to Nasir. He wanted to talk to Nasir for the whole trip, and after, and forever. Oh gods, he was an idiot. No one finds their person like this do they? The one who makes them change who they are for the better. No, it just didn’t happen like this.

Nasir stirred a little and Agron looked to see if he was (fingers crossed) waking up. No such luck. He must be tired, Agron thought. All that panic earlier would drain anyone. Agron couldn’t be selfish, wanting to see Nasir’s dark eyes on him again and hear that honey sweet voice. Fuck the gods! Agron was so screwed. In six and a half hours, Nasir would be out of his life. Now was not the time to get attached.

***

Nasir woke with a start, his fingers digging into the armrests as he tried to remember where he was. It was always the same if he managed to sleep on plane rides, nightmares about the windows smashing or the wings dropping off, the usual scary shit that surely everyone’s thought about.

He looked around him, but everything appeared calm.

Agron had his head tilted in Nasir’s direction, his mouth open slightly as calm breaths slipped through his lips. Nasir took the opportunity to actually look at Agron without the fear that he was staring.

"Beautiful," Nasir said to himself. He really was too. Nasir couldn’t take his eyes off the man.

A light and a chime overhead broke Nasir’s study of the sleeping giant and he realised that the ‘fasten your seatbelts’ alert had come on. Nasir never took his seatbelt off when flying, he never understood people who did, but when he checked (innocently glanced at) Agron’s lap, he could see that Agron had loosened his.

"Um, Agron?" Nasir put his hand flat against the top of Agron’s arm. "Agron?"

When Agron blinked awake, Nasir bit his lip and smiled awkwardly.

"Sorry, it’s just… your seatbelt."

Agron looked up at the light that Nasir was pointing at and then blinked some more.

"Oh, right…" Agron tugged on the strap and checked that it was in place before turning back to Nasir. "I’m like a zombie after I fall asleep. Even after a nap I need about a gallon of coffee to wake up properly. Did I snore?"

Nasir laughed and held up his iPod as he wrapped the cord of his earphones around it. No way was he listening to it now that Agron was awake again.

"Oh yeah, right," Agron grinned when he realised Nasir wouldn’t have been able to hear him even if he had been snoring. "You feeling ok?"

Nasir nodded. “No turbulence so far, so yeah.”

Agron turned his head for a minute and peered out of the window. It was getting darker all the time, the map of the world beneath them turning from a patchwork blanket to a circuit board of lights.

"Doesn’t it freak you out?" Nasir’s voice was quiet, thoughtful, and when Agron looked back at him Nasir’s eyes widened a little bit.

"Looking down?" Agron questioned. Nasir nodded. "No, I guess not… I mean, if you really think about it it does. It’s kind of unnatural for us to be up here, but I like that. I have to trust that some things are out of my control whatever I do and I just have to go along for the ride."

Agron frowned and looked away.

"What?" Nasir leaned forward, intrigued by Agron’s words and how terrifyingly open he was being with him.

"It’s just… I know it’s easy for me to day this stuff cause flying doesn’t bother me, but for you… you must get people trying to brush over your phobia all the time. Must piss you off."

"Most people just want to help. I can’t explain that I’m never going to not feel like this."

"Yeah," Agron sighed. "I could… I’m sure I could help you try to control it. If you can get a handle on what you’re feeling and try to manage it better you won’t feel so bad every time you fly."

"You want to help me?"

"If I can, yeah," Agron said as he turned more on his seat, his knees pressing against Nasir’s thigh. "I won’t be here to give your temples a massage next time little man."

Yeah, and wasn’t that a fucking shame, Nasir thought sadly.

"Um, I’m going to sound mad, but… I know some techniques that I used on some of the really highly strung dogs I used to train."

Nasir snorted and was about to smack Agron on the arm when the serious look on his face stopped him.

"Shit, sorry, I thought you were joking. Go on, I’m sorry."

Agron didn’t look annoyed, just a little more guarded, and Nasir mentally kicked himself.

"Ok, well close your eyes and put two of your fingers against your wrist, right over your pulse."

Agron watched the dark smudge of Nasir’s lashes and the way his fingers slid over the tempting skin of his forearm. He imagined pressing his lips over that roadmap of veins and Agron’s heart clenched in his chest.

"What next?" Nasir asked, whetting his lips, brow creased in concentration.

"Count the beats and hum along. I don’t know if it’s the sound or the vibration, but… it works with highly strung, um, dogs."

Nasir nodded, unfazed and started to hum a low, tuneless noise, but soothing in its constant buzz.

At that moment, the plane shuddered and the pilot made an announcement that they would be experiencing some turbulence. Nasir tensed automatically, his eyes widening.

"Shit," Nasir said through gritted teeth. "I can’t…"

"You can, Nasir. Close your eyes and feel your pulse ok…" The plane shook again and Agron put a hand on Nasir’s knee. "Hum along and breathe."

Closing his eyes again, Nasir did what he was instructed to do, he felt the throb of his vein under his fingers and the rumble in his throat, but the searing pressure of Agron’s hand on his leg was all he could focus on.

"That’s it," Agron said soothingly. "That’s better, right? See you can do it."

Agron took his hand of Nasir's knee. To be honest, he hadn't actually realised he'd done it. It was instinctive, natural, but kind of forward of him to be touching Nasir.

As the plane continued to shudder for a few more minutes, Agron observed that Nasir was a lot calmer than he was when they had taken off. He smiled softly at the determined set of Nasir's jaw. He hoped that in future, Nasir wouldn't fear flying quite so much and would maybe even remember Agron.

Nasir opened his eyes and beamed at Agron when he noticed that the plane was flying normally again.

"That... that really helped. It distracted me."

"Good, it's not easy getting over something like anexiety, but you can control it and beat it if you work at it. I think as long as you think... like a warrior...

"A warrior?" Nasir tilted his head slightly to the side and arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Agron said enthusiastically. "The way I see it is that you have to choose to be a certain type of person. You ever read anything about Spartacus?"

Nasir nodded. "Um, a little, back in school."

"I read some stuff about it, but the idea of what he was fighting for really stuck with me and I suppose you could say that whenever I'm unsure about anything or   
afraid of making a difficult decision, I think about what it was like for the people back in his day. It sounds stupid, I know, but..."

"No," Nasir interrupted quickly. "No, it doesn't. I get it... it's like having a reminder that you have to be strong and fight for the things that you want. You showed me that when you helped me with my phobia. I think it's a great thing to live by."

"Promise to remember it the next time you fly, ok?" Agron winked and smiled deeply, his dimples causing Nasir's heart to race wildly.

"I will," Nasir replied. Like he could forget anything that had happened on this journey.

***

The hours flew by, haha flew... and Agron and Nasir talked through all of them. Every smile that passed between them was committed to memory, each minute that slipped by a reminder that the end of their time together was drawing closer. Agron's stomach tightened every time Nasir laughed at one of his stupid jokes. He didn't know how he was going to let Nasir walk out of his life when the wheels hit the tarmac. It was a cliche, but Agron felt as though he had known Nasir for years or in a different life maybe, and he wanted to keep on knowing him. It wasn't fair that they probably wouldn't ever see each other again.

Maybe Nasir would want to see him again? Agron had to at least try to keep in touch... even if Nasir wanted to be friends, hell if he wanted to be penpals Agron would be over the fucking moon and buying the first writing set he could find. He just couldn't let him go. Not without a fight.

"Hey, um, Nasir...?"

"Hmm?" Nasir turned to look at Agron, but before Agron could continue, there was an announcement that they were going to be landing in the next few minutes so all pasangers had to return to their seats and secure their seatbelts.

"It's going to be fine," Agron said, sensing the change in Nasir already.

"Fuck, landing is worse than taking off... I hate it. We're falling... shit I'm supposed to be humming, right?" Nasir gripped the armrests and closed his eyes.

The lights dimmed and Agron saw Nasir jump. He was shaking, just as badly as he was when the plane had taken off.

"Agron, would you... touch me? It really helped before." Nasir's voice was quiet, with the edge of embarrassment to it.

Without hesitating, Agron slid his fingertips against Nasir's temples and began rubbing the skin gently, Nasir's panicked breaths ghosting over his forearms. After a minute or so, Nasir exhaled and started to hum softly. Agron smiled and joined in. He really wanted to lean in, just a little bit further, and feel what Nasir's lips would be like against his own. Instead, he kept on soothing Nasir with his fingertips and that was enough. Well, it was all he had.

"I'm here, ok. I've got you," Agron whispered. He moved his fingers up to Nasir's hairline, the silky strands like silk under his touch. "You're a warrior, Nasir. Don't forget that."

Their eyes never left each other until they landed on the ground with a bump and a screeching of tyres, and it took the flight attendant coughing impatiently and standing over them for Agron to let go of Nasir's face, even though it was against every fibre of his being to do so.

"You were better this time, little man," Agron chuckled, ignoring the mody looking woman in the isle and trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, I guess," Nasir said, standing up and pulling his bag out of the hold above his head. "Thank you... again."

"Think nothing of it, Nasir," Agron replied, standing up and putting the strap of his backpack across his shoulder.

The two men made their way down the plane to the exit. Agron kept his eyes on Nasir, wondering about the sadness that had settled on his features. He kept quiet as they passed through security and Agron suddenly had the horrible feeling that maybe, somehow, Nasir had seen the lust that had sparked in his eyes back on the plane and was freaked by it.

When they eventually made it through to the maiin airport, they foundthemselves standing awkwardly together, both not knowing quite what to do next.

"Hey, Nasir? I, um..." Agron stuck out his hand and waited until Nasir took it, shaking it gently before letting it dropped again. "I'm glad you sat next to me and I, uh... good luck on your way home."

I wish I could be with you, Agron added in his head. He hadn't wished for anything so strongly in a long time.

"I'm glad I sat next to you too," Nasir said and took a step away. " I should go. Good luck on your course."

Oh, yeah, thanks." Agron took a step back too.

"Bye then," Nasir smiled, stepping another few inches away and shrugging, although he wasn't sure why he was shrugging he just...

"Nasir?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have to leave right away? I was going to get a coffee and a sandwich and I thought you could come with? My shout? Look, I just..."

I really don't want you to leave me.

"My dad'll wonder where I am," Nasir said slowly.

"Sure." Agron nodded. That was that then. He turned his back and started to walk away, his heart like a lead weight in his chest.

"I am kind of hungry though."

Nasir's voice spread through Agron like a wave of relief. He turned back towards him and was surprised to see that Nasir was close at his heels, closing the gap between them like there was a magnetic force drawing them together.

"Awesome," Agron grinned, bumping his elbow against Nasir's arm and making him laugh.

"Hey Agron?"

"Yeah?"

"This whole warrior thing... I'm just thinking, what if I forget what it's all about? I wouldn't have anyone to give me advice or anything."

Nasir steered them towards the nearest coffee shop and paused just outside the doorway.

"Advice? There isn't really anything to know," Agron asnwered a little confused.

"Uh-huh," Nasir nodded solemly. "Well, in case I do need advice, I wondered if you would want to swap numbers. In case."

"Oh... ooh, I see, yes, you're right. You might need me for... advice. Swapping numbers. You're pretty smart, little man."

"Yep, I am," Nasir grinned. Smart enough not to let you go.

Agron liked seeing this side of Nasir. It was almost how he was when they were in the plane and Nasir's fear had simmered to a slow burn, but now, on solid ground, Agron was bowled over by the easy confidence and... sexiness that Nasir wore like a second skin.

As they walked into the crowded coffee shop Agron casually placed his hand against the small of Nasir's back. For guidence, you understand... the shop was terribly busy.

And when Nasir shivered, leaning into the touch just a little, Agron knew that it was something very different to fear that caused that reaction.


End file.
